Allow me to introduce my new favorite way to eat carrots. And if you even barely entertained the thought that cooked carrots might be a little boring, dismiss that idea immediately! The entire time my cooking assistant and nephew Jake and I were tasting this recipe we kept remarking on how neither of us was that crazy about cooked carrots, but these barely cooked carrots with a dressing of tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, a generous amount of minced garlic, and Sumac were positively addictive. We ate most of them warm, but I had a a few bites left that were refrigerated overnight, and they tasted fantastic cold out of the fridge as well.

The idea for Carrots with Tahini Dressing came from Sam Morgannam at Food and Wine, but we bumped up the flavor of the dressing by using a lot more garlic and adding a generous amount of the middle eastern spice called Sumac that I'm so fond of. The tartness of the sumac added extra depth to the flavor here, and sprinkling a little sumac over the finished dish added nice color as well. Can you make this if you don't have Sumac? Of course you can, but I love Sumac so much that I hope this may be the dish that finally gets you to try it. (Someone on the Kalyn's Kitchen Facebook Page asked about using Za'atar in this dish, which I think would also be great! There are ten more recipe ideas for Sumac at the end of the post, just to show you how versatile it is!)

We used whole organic carrots, peeled and cut into diagonal slices.

The carrots are steamed for exactly six minutes, not a second longer! Let them drain and cool slightly in a colander.

While the carrots are steaming whisk together the Tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, and Sumac to make the dressing.

Chop up a few tablespoons of flat Italian parsley as well.

When the carrots have cooled slightly, combine them with the tahini dressing and parsley and season with a tiny bit of sea salt. Sprinkle extra Sumac over the top if you'd like and serve immediately.

Start heating the water in a stovetop steamer or electric steamer while you prep the carrots. Peel carrots, trim the ends, and cut into diagonal slices about 1/2 inch thick. When water is boiling, steam the carrots exactly 6 minutes and then drain into colander placed in the sink. (Use a timer; part of what makes this so good is that the carrots are still slightly crisp.)

While carrots are steaming, whisk together the lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and water and then stir in the minced garlic and Sumac to make the dressing. (Start with 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and taste to see you want more.)

When the carrots have cooled a little put them in a bowl and toss with the tahini dressing. Season to taste with a tiny bit of sea salt and stir in the chopped parsley. Sprinkle the dish with a little more Sumac if desired and serve immediately.

These carrots were amazingly good warm, but I thought they also tasted great cold when they'd been in the fridge overnight.

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Kalyn, these look and sound fantastic! I'm always looking for new ways to use carrots. :-) I'm so glad you did the "cold out of the fridge for breakfast" test, too. ;-) That's often my favorite way to eat meat and veggies dishes!

I'm one of those people who love raw carrots, but not cooked carrots, so the idea of "barely cooked" really appeals to me. And I adore sumac, which is always on my spice rack. Great combination of flavors (and the color? oh, boy!), and I can't wait to try this.

This looks wonderful and I think it may even get my kids eating carrots, as they will eat just about anything with tahini on it! I love sumac too, and am always looking out for new uses for it. Thanks!

I'm new via Elise but I've bookmarked you. I use sumac and za'atar and recently a Turkish seasoning from Penzey. Never in carrots but this sounds like such a natural that I can't wait to try it. I'm looking forward to digging into your site. Kathleen

I made this dish Saturday and it was a big hit. Although I did not have sumac on hand, apparently it has disappeared from my spice rack. So I have to repeat the dish soon :) Nevertheless, the carrots were delicious.And what a wonderful website you have. Scrumptious :)

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